Mullin Misses Everything About N.y.

``New Yawk pizza,`` Mullin said on the phone from Oakland. ``Found a place that was OK in San Francisco -- North Beach pizza. But nothing right around here.``

Mullin also misses his parents` house in Flatbush, his street, his friends, his old campus at St. John`s, his former teammates, their box scores.

He misses sharing a bunk bed with younger brother Terrence.

He misses mom.

``I miss her cooking me breakfast in the morning,`` Mullin said. ``I miss her waking me up in the morning for breakfast.``

Mullin came home for Eileen Mullin`s breakfast club. He and the Golden State Warriors came to town. The Warriors lost to the Knicks 121-114 Tuesday at the Garden -- their only appearance this season. They`ll fly into LaGuardia late this afternoon from Milwaukee. Someone from Mullin`s family will meet him, drive him home to Flatbush. Plans have been made for the rest of the day.

``Have dinner with my family, check out the neighborhood, see who`s been gettin` out of line.``

Mullin has a three-bedroom condo in Alameda, one exit up the highway from the Oakland Coliseum. He calls it ``the place I sleep at when we`re not on the road.`` Since Mullin joined the Warriors in early November, he`s been piling up the points in the frequent flyer clubs, and ordering regularly from the room service menu.

He`s learned the secret to off-court happiness in the NBA is learning to get along with himself. When St. John`s hit the road, Mullin was part of a traveling hoop fraternity. When the Warriors leave Oakland, it is usually to lose. They`ve played 21 road games to date, and lost 19 of them -- 19 reasons why they are struggling daily to avoid the Pacific Division cellar. Mullin, who can`t remember another losing team he`s played for, sees no reason to celebrate defeat. He says he spends most of his time thinking about playing better. Or daydreaming about Brooklyn.

January and February are the months when rookies begin asking themselves if the NBA season will ever end. The question is especially difficult for a rookie with a team such as Golden State. The losses run into each other. Confidence wanes. Egos clash. The coach sweats. In Oakland, where expectations soared with the re-signing of Joe Barry Carroll and the drafting of Mullin, coach John Bach moves closer to the unemployment list every time the Warriors throw the ball out-of-bounds.

This is not easy for Mullin, raised in the stable environments of the Mullin home and the Lou Carnessecca program at St. John`s. His parents were with him when he scored the winning basket in his first game with the Warriors on Nov. 7. They went home a week later. The Warriors went to pieces. Mullin, averaging 14.2 on 46 percent from the floor, has had his shooting slumps. He`s been targeted defensively, burned by the best scoring guards around. He`s shown that even Chris Mullin, of gym rat fame, can withdraw.

The way to cope, Mullin says, is to think positive. The Warriors are young. They`ve lost their share of close games. They have a long home stretch. Things will even out.

And there have been highlights.

One of the Warriors` road wins was over the Lakers at the L.A. Forum, Mullin`s first visit there. He scored 24. ``An exciting night,`` he said, remembering the feeling of sharing the floor with Kareem and Magic and Worthy.

He was even thrilled when a front-row spectator greeted him during the warmups. ``Guy said hello to me,`` Mullin said, ``and I knew I knew him, but I couldn`t tell from where. Then it hit me -- it was Juan Epstein from Welcome Back, Kotter. You know him? I don`t know his real name, but he said he was from Jersey.``

Jersey. The Lincoln Tunnel. The Garden. The Knicks. Tuesday night. It got Mullin to thinking about home.